Are we "professional" enough?

I'm talking about the team on the pitch during a match here.

A feature of the last few games at Home Park has been the irritating level of "professionalism" exhibited by oppents. Orient on Tuesday were on it from the moment they took the lead. All the usual tricks were there: slow the game down; take ages over every set piece; feign injury; take the odd dive; contest every decision. You know the drill.

It wasn't just Orient though. Millwall more or less refereed their themselves with excessively extended goal celebrations being a particularly annoying string to their bow. Before them Carlisle "Oriented" us.

Anti-football of the type Warnock's teams always excelled at has well and truly banjaxed us recently and we didn't seem to have any answer to it.

Is there anything we can do as a team to combat it it or do we just have to hope that not all refs are as weak as the tossers that have allowed it to flourish in the last few home games?

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I'm talking about the team on the pitch during a match here.

A feature of the last few games at Home Park has been the irritating level of "professionalism" exhibited by oppents. Orient on Tuesday were on it from the moment they took the lead. All the usual tricks were there: slow the game down; take ages over every set piece; feign injury; take the odd dive; contest every decision. You know the drill.

It wasn't just Orient though. Millwall more or less refereed their themselves with excessively extended goal celebrations being a particularly annoying string to their bow. Before them Carlisle "Oriented" us.

Anti-football of the type Warnock's teams always excelled at has well and truly banjaxed us recently and we didn't seem to have any answer to it.

Is there anything we can do as a team to combat it it or do we just have to hope that not all refs are as weak as the tossers that have allowed it to flourish in the last few home games?

I wonder when all of this shit started in the professional game? When I first started watching footy with my auntie jean at Elland Rd. None of the things that you described above went on. Bremner would just take it on the chin if he was hacked down and then when the ref wasn't looking he'd knock yer fooking teeth out and get on with the game. There was never any of this slowing down of the match, or some fake pansy diving to fool the officials or feigning injury, FFS

What went wrong with the game? Money? Agents? Commercialism? Egos?

You can always tell when results take a turn for the worse.

If it ain't the referee's fault then it's the opponents time wasting, play acting, slow substitutions, etc.

I've noticed over the years that Luke is no different.

If we're losing then any goal kicks are speeded up.

If we're winning then he always places the ball on the opposite side to which the ball ran out of play.

It's time wasting by any other name.

Paul Wotton would habitually smash the ball towards the back of the stands knowing the fans would take an age to return it.

Aren't we all being a bit selective?

Not sure where to begin with the Leeds United example.

Probably the most cynical, ruthless team I've ever seen along with Argentina in '66.

Harvey, Madely, Charlton, Hunter, Cooper, Reaney, Bremner, Lorimer, Giles, Clarke, Jones.

There. I can name 'em just like that and I'm no Leeds fan. They were superb and they were also just about the nastiest bunch of thugs who ever lined up for any team.

I saw them play once: Spurs 0 Leeds Utd 0. Ralph Coates got his nose broken. Claret everywhere.

Exeter Missed out, so i take it we didnt cheat, the Ref didnt side with us and you just lost to a better team?

Thanks, at long last an honest post

Rollo Tomasi wrote:

You can always tell when results take a turn for the worse.

If it ain't the referee's fault then it's the opponents time wasting, play acting, slow substitutions, etc.

I've noticed over the years that Luke is no different.

If we're losing then any goal kicks are speeded up.

If we're winning then he always places the ball on the opposite side to which the ball ran out of play.

It's time wasting by any other name.

Paul Wotton would habitually smash the ball towards the back of the stands knowing the fans would take an age to return it.

Aren't we all being a bit selective?

Not sure where to begin with the Leeds United example.

Probably the most cynical, ruthless team I've ever seen along with Argentina in '66.

Now that's unfair. Wotton was trying to find a green shirt with some of those long passes.

No.

Motorservices wrote:

Exeter Missed out, so i take it we didnt cheat, the Ref didnt side with us and you just lost to a better team?

Thanks, at long last an honest post

Fair comment.

We were second best and Exeter killed any momentum our goal gave us by keeping the bloody ball in play. No complaints about either them or the ref; we were second best. Nothing else to it.

Pretty sure it would have been different had we not had half a team of subs playing though.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Motorservices wrote:

Exeter Missed out, so i take it we didnt cheat, the Ref didnt side with us and you just lost to a better team?

Thanks, at long last an honest post

Fair comment.

We were second best and Exeter killed any momentum our goal gave us by keeping the bloody ball in play. No complaints about either them or the ref; we were second best. Nothing else to it.

Pretty sure it would have been different had we not had half a team of subs playing though.

For all their apparent superiority, they only had 3 shots on target. I thought they got their tactics spot on and soaked up the little we threw at them with ease and closed out the game without breaking into a sweat it really wasn't a footballing masterclass . Maybe if Jervis hadn't been strangely penalised leading up to the pen it might have been different, probably not.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Motorservices wrote:

Exeter Missed out, so i take it we didnt cheat, the Ref didnt side with us and you just lost to a better team?

Thanks, at long last an honest post

Fair comment.

We were second best and Exeter killed any momentum our goal gave us by keeping the bloody ball in play. No complaints about either them or the ref; we were second best. Nothing else to it.

Pretty sure it would have been different had we not had half a team of subs playing though.

Top post, understand about you having players out, our line up was a massive shock, when i heard who 'wasnt' playing i turned to my brother and said, we are gonna get smashed bigtime today, after about 5 mins i felt happy that we werent a goal down, i dont think the stats tell the full story of the game tbh, YES, you had some very goods chances in the first 30mins, but i think our PEN came about the right time/turning point of the game

I do believe Tisdale got it right (made up for getting it wrong last season)

Hugh Watt wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Motorservices wrote:

Exeter Missed out, so i take it we didnt cheat, the Ref didnt side with us and you just lost to a better team?

Thanks, at long last an honest post

Fair comment.

We were second best and Exeter killed any momentum our goal gave us by keeping the bloody ball in play. No complaints about either them or the ref; we were second best. Nothing else to it.

Pretty sure it would have been different had we not had half a team of subs playing though.

For all their apparent superiority, they only had 3 shots on target. I thought they got their tactics spot on and soaked up the little we threw at them with ease and closed out the game without breaking into a sweat it really wasn't a footballing masterclass . Maybe if Jervis hadn't been strangely penalised leading up to the pen it might have been different, probably not.

kind of nice words there, tad surprised, as normally you slate everything about ECFC

I haven't read a post anywhere from any greenie saying ECFC didn't deserve their win on the day, not sure what you've been reading Motor

Graiser wrote:

I haven't read a post anywhere from any greenie saying ECFC didn't deserve their win on the day, not sure what you've been reading Motor

What a meant was its rare for Hugh to say nice things about ECFC

I've got plenty of time for the club. I think it's very well run and is youth set up is years ahead of ours and pretty much everyone else in the lower leagues.

Graiser wrote:

I haven't read a post anywhere from any greenie saying ECFC didn't deserve their win on the day, not sure what you've been reading Motor

I agree with that. Fans on here are usually quite circumspect.
Maybe Motorsevices is confusing this forum with Newell's corny polarised 1970s bovver rhetoric trotted out whenever Exeter are in the frame. He doesn't really know how else to communicate. I suppose it's called bants these days, just like Funtime Frankie's rhetoric when disparaging, and worse, the gay community.
These people tend to congregate together and reinforce eachother's views, pasoti and the fanfest being two places that come to mind.  Doesn't happen here. Well, apart from well founded suspicion regarding the reluctant one's motives and commitment.

As to professionalism, I would say Adams is the most professional manager for a long time. Quick to get down on it, quick to make decisions. He also strikes me as a fair and honest man, almost Calvinist in some of his manner. The club itself however, is quite a different matter. Everything down here is a bit wild and wooly, and some might say that's a good thing, but professional it ain't